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A.

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C.

Posted by: Purple | 2010/03/05

While you breeastfeed, any antibodies you develop from exposure to colds, flu etc will be passed on to baby in your milk, so that will keep baby safe.

Breastfeeding won''t stop your baby getting sick at all, but it reduces the chances of illness a lot and if baby does get sick, s/he will recover faster.

If you get a cold or flu, you won''t pass it on to baby as you will develop antibodies and those will be passed on to baby. However, you must make sure you are scrupulous about washing hands as before the antibodies develop in your system, baby can still get that cold or flu.

Posted by: NEW MOM | 2010/03/04

Posted by: Purple | 2010/03/04

Your breastmilk contains everything your baby needs. Even if you aren''t eating that well or even if a mother lives somewhere where there is a famine, your body makes good quality milk at your expense and provides those nutrients.

Breatmilk is low in iron, but this doesn''t mean you need to or should give baby extra iron, as the iron that is in the breastmilk is completely absorbed, wherease, for example, only a small percentage of the iron added to formula is absorbed.

Breastmilk is also low in vitamin D, but this is not something one gets from food sources anyway, you get it from sunshine. You must put sunscreen on your baby when you are outside, but a few minutes standing on your veranda every day before putting sunscreen on will ensure baby gets enough vitamin D. Also, our bodies store vitamin D, so what we get in summer is stored and is still being used in winter.

If your baby is on formula, various vitamins have been added to the formula so you shouldn''t need to give anything extra unless you are worried that something is missing from that particular formula.

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